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In-store Wi-Fi a must for millennials

Wi-Fi is a must for millennials who want to use mobile devices to create more personalized, tailored experiences.

Shoppers aged 18 to 34 are mobile-focused and share many traits, but there are big differences in gender preferences, according to a new study by Euclid Analytics.

Both men and women want to use their smartphone to personalize the store experience, but men are more likely to value features that create an easier and faster checkout or a VIP experience. Women tend to prefer messaging that offers discounts, deals or exclusive offers.

U.S. shoppers like and want more communication from retailers, an interest that crossed demographic and gender lines. Millennial women said they would likely be more brand loyal if a merchant used their personal customer history and data to provide personalized services for a better experience, and a whopping 81 percent of U.S. consumers want to receive communications from a store following a recent visit.

Even baby boomers.

Roughly 59 percent of people aged 55 and older are interested in getting messages from a store through their mobile device during their visit, but 74 percent of those emphasize the need to have choose how and when they receive them.

Retaining some control over how and when messages were received is even more important to millennials, with 88 percent in this age group wanting to choose how and when they are targeted compared to 77 percent of the larger population.

"This research clearly illustrates a trend. Millennials and other mobile-connected consumers want from physical retail what they get online: a highly personalized and convenient shopping experience," said Brent Franson, CEO of Euclid Analytics. "As these shoppers walk into stores, Wi-Fi will create the new 'logged-in' experience that bridges the physical and digital worlds."

Mobile is indeed influencing the physical. A 2015 study from Deloitte Digital found that mobile was expected to influence 64 cents of every dollar spent in brick-and-mortar retail stores.

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